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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

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Agnelli: ‘Juventus like Barca, Bayern’


President Andrea Agnelli believes Juventus are “basically on par with Barcelona and Bayern Munich”.

The Bianconeri were eliminated from the Champions League at the Last 16 stage by the German side this season, but the patron believes their performance shows that last year’s run to the final was no fluke.

“The first thing to point out, both personally and for the whole of Juventus, is our enormous pride and satisfaction after winning a fifth-consecutive Scudetto,” Agnelli said at a Press conference to announce new contracts for Andrea Barzagli and Gianluigi Buffon.

“Something which definitely was a source of bitterness for us this year was the elimination from the Champions League.

“It was a bittersweet-bitterness though, because the game against Bayern Munich confirmed the international scope of this team.

“It confirmed that last year wasn’t a fluke, but that Juventus are truly starting to position ourselves among the European greats.

“We played basically on a par first with Barcelona and then with Bayern, in what we think was the most beautiful tie of the Champions League this year, on par with the Europa League Quarter-Final between Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.

“We have to give the final signal that our dimension is an international one.

“I’ve talked with pride about the fifth Scudetto, but I don’t think we’ll understand the enormity of this result until 10, 15 or 20 years down the line.

“Only when some time has passed will we be fully able to see that we’ve written a page of history. At the moment we can’t take stock of what we’ve done, because we’re absolutely focused on our next objectives.

“When you come to Juventus, you realise that the most important objective isn’t the one you just achieved - it’s the next one.

“So from that point of view our attentions are focused on the Coppa Italia final on May 21, because it would be the first time an Italian club had done that one-two [retaining the Scudetto and Coppa].

“So we’re focused on that, and only after can we draw conclusions from this year.

“They’re objectives that we’ll be aiming for again next year, and with our world-class Coach [Massimiliano Allegri] we really have the chance to go beyond history and into legend with a sixth Scudetto or really trying to reach an international objective [the Champions League].

“All the lads that are at Juventus now have the knowledge that we can go and play anywhere in Europe.

“We know it has to be a dream, but it's a dream that is achievable now.”

Agnelli also took the time to praise Buffon and Barzagli, who will remain in Turin until 2018.

"The two lads I have next to me leave me a bit emotional, because I'm next to two world champions, two guys who have been champions of Italy five times in a row.

"Gigi can add another five Scudetti to that, as well as other national cups and trophies.

"It's a real privilege for me to have had Gigi as captain of Juventus over these years, because the captain of Juventus is the captain of Italy.

"A captain isn't just someone who wears the armband, it's somebody who makes the difference on and off the pitch.

"The last time we were here I hoped that someone like him would be given the highest individual honour, the Ballon d'Or.

"That didn't work out, so I hope Gigi will never give up and we'll see what happens.

"Also with me is Andrea, with whom I've joked several times that he's my best-ever buy and I can only reiterate that.

"Andrea is another serious, reserved lad who deserves not 10 times, but 100 times the spotlight that he gets.

"I don't think he seeks the spotlight, but he definitely deserves more of it.

"He's one of the best defenders of his era, and when you talk about Thiago Silva, Gerard Pique and John Terry he definitely belongs on that list. The fact we've had him with us for the past five years and will have him for the next two makes us extremely proud.

"We have two more years ahead of us with Andrea and Gigi, we'll walk together until 2018."

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